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Your immune system is your first line of defense against all disease, especially infectious disease, and there are many different ways to boost your immune system and improve its function. One nutrient that plays a very important role in your immune system's ability to ward off viral infections is zinc.

Zinc gluconate,¹ zinc acetate² and zinc sulphate³ have all been shown to reduce the severity and duration of viral infections such as the common cold. Zinc also appears to be the key ingredient in treatment protocols using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).

The reason for this is because HCQ is a zinc ionophore (zinc transport molecule),^4,5 meaning it's a drug that improves your cells' uptake of zinc. Once inside your cells, zinc prevents viral replication.⁶ This is also why zinc and zinc ionophores need to be taken very early in the illness, or as a prophylactic.

The problem is that zinc is largely insoluble and cannot easily enter through the fatty wall of your cells. Getting all the way into the cell is crucial, as this is where the viral replication occurs. This is why zinc ionophores are so important.

Aside from hydroxychloroquine, other natural, and safer, zinc ionophores include quercetin and epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG). If given early, zinc along with a zinc ionophore should, at least theoretically, help lower the viral load and prevent the immune system from becoming overloaded.

Zinc Is Crucial for Healthy Immune Function

Zinc is crucial for healthy immune function⁷ — like vitamin D, it actually helps regulate your immune function⁸ — and a combination of zinc with a zinc ionophore was in 2010 shown to inhibit SARS coronavirus in vitro. In cell culture, it also blocked viral replication within minutes.⁹

Importantly, zinc deficiency has been shown to impair immune function.¹⁰ As noted in a 2013 paper on zinc deficiency:¹¹

"Zinc is a second messenger of immune cells, and intracellular free zinc in these cells participate in signaling events. Zinc … is very effective in decreasing the incidence of infection in the elderly. Zinc not only modulates cell-mediated immunity but is also an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent."

Similarly, the September 2020 paper in Medical Hypotheses, "Does Zinc Supplementation Enhance the Clinical Efficacy of Chloroquine / Hydroxychloroquine to Win Todays Battle Against COVID-19?" points out that:¹²

"Besides direct antiviral effects, CQ/HCQ [chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine] specifically target extracellular zinc to intracellular lysosomes where it interferes with RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity and coronavirus replication.

As zinc deficiency frequently occurs in elderly patients and in those with cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease, or diabetes, we hypothesize that CQ/HCQ plus zinc supplementation may be more effective in reducing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality than CQ or HCQ in monotherapy. Therefore, CQ/HCQ in combination with zinc should be considered as additional study arm for COVID-19 clinical trials."

Low Zinc Levels Increase COVID-19 Death Risk

Preliminary data also suggest people with low zinc levels are more likely to die from COVID-19 than those with higher levels. The research^{13,14,15,16,17} was presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) Conference on Coronavirus Disease,¹⁸ held online September 23 through September 25, 2020, and posted¹⁹ on the preprint server medRxiv October 11, 2020.

In the video above, Dr. John Campbell reviews this and other zinc research. As noted by the authors of this study,²⁰ "Zinc balances immune responses and also has a proven direct antiviral action against some viruses." As mentioned, zinc's primary antiviral action is to impair viral replication inside the cell.

To evaluate the importance of plasma zinc levels on COVID-19 outcomes, the researchers did a retrospective analysis of 249 COVID-19 patients admitted to a hospital in Barcelona, Spain, between Mach 15 and April 30, 2020, for whom fasting plasma zinc levels were recorded. The average patient age was 63.

Patients who had low zinc levels upon admission were found to have higher levels of inflammation during the course of their illness, and they were also more likely to die from complications related to COVID-19. As reported by Medical Xpress:²¹

"Mean baseline zinc levels among the 249 patients were 61 mcg/dl. Among those who died, the zinc levels at baseline were significantly lower at 43 mcg/dl vs 63.1 mcg/dl in survivors.

Higher zinc levels were associated with lower maximum levels of interleukin-6 (proteins that indicate systemic inflammation) during the period of active infection.

After adjusting by age, sex, severity and receiving hydroxychloroquine, statistical analysis showed each unit increase of plasma zinc at admission to hospital was associated with a 7% reduced risk of in-hospital mortality.

Having a plasma zinc level lower than 50 mcg/dl at admission was associated with a 2.3 times increased risk of in-hospital death compared with those patients with a plasma zinc level of 50 mcg/dl or higher."

Zinc Deficiency Linked to Poor COVID-19 Outcomes

Another paper²² reviewed by Campbell was published in the November 2020 issue of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Here, they found that people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 related symptoms were more likely to be deficient in zinc than healthy controls. The median zinc level among hospitalized COVID-19 patients was 74.5 mcg/dl, compared to 105.8 mcg/dl in the control group. As reported by the authors:²³

"Amongst the COVID-19 patients, 27 (57.4%) were found to be zinc deficient. These patients were found to have higher rates of complications, acute respiratory distress syndrome (18.5% vs 0%), corticosteroid therapy, prolonged hospital stay, and increased mortality (18.5% vs 0%). The odds ratio (OR) of developing complications was 5.54 for zinc deficient COVID-19 patients."

Importantly, while 70.4% of zinc deficient patients developed complications, only 30% of those with sufficient levels developed complications. As noted by Campbell, here we see that healthy controls had far higher zinc levels than patients with milder illness in the Spanish study.

The hospitalized patients also had higher levels on average. This raises the question as to whether the Spanish cutoff level of 50 mcg/dl might be too low still. He points out that "normal" levels of zinc are between 72 mcg/dl and 144 mcg/dl. This seems to support the findings of the Spanish study, seeing how all of the patients were on the low side.

Zinc Is a Key Component of MATH+ Protocol

Among the most effective treatment protocols for COVID-19 is the MATH+ Protocol,²⁴ developed by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Working Group²⁵ (FLCCC).

In the interview above, Dr. Paul Marik explains how the COVID-19 critical care protocol grew out of his sepsis treatment (a core ingredient of which is vitamin C), as he and other doctors noticed there were many similarities between sepsis and severe COVID-19 infection, in particular the out-of-control inflammatory cascade.

There are also distinct differences between the two conditions, and to address those, Marik and nine other physicians founded the FLCCC and began developing a modified protocol specifically for COVID-19.

Zinc is one of the central components of this protocol. As of its July 2020 update, the protocol also includes the use of quercetin to facilitate zinc uptake. There are now MATH+ protocols²⁶ for prophylaxis, mild symptoms that can be treated at home, and a full clinical in-hospital critical care protocol.

The group has issued several updates since April 2020, so be sure to download the latest versions from the Eastern Virginia Medical School COVID Care for Clinicians site.²⁷

Natural Zinc Transporters — Quercetin and EGCG

As mentioned, quercetin²⁸ and EGCG are natural zinc ionophores that can do the same job as HCQ. According to a study²⁹ published in 2014, many of the biological actions of quercetin and EGCG actually appear to be related to their ability to increase cellular zinc uptake. As explained by the authors:³⁰

"Labile zinc, a tiny fraction of total intracellular zinc that is loosely bound to proteins and easily interchangeable, modulates the activity of numerous signaling and metabolic pathways. Dietary plant polyphenols such as the flavonoids quercetin (QCT) and epigallocatechin-gallate act as antioxidants and as signaling molecules.

Remarkably, the activities of numerous enzymes that are targeted by polyphenols are dependent on zinc. We have previously shown that these polyphenols chelate zinc cations and hypothesized that these flavonoids might be also acting as zinc ionophores, transporting zinc cations through the plasma membrane.

To prove this hypothesis, herein, we have demonstrated the capacity of QCT and epigallocatechin-gallate to rapidly increase labile zinc in mouse hepatocarcinoma Hepa 1-6 cells as well as, for the first time, in liposomes … The ionophore activity of dietary polyphenols may underlay the raising of labile zinc levels triggered in cells by polyphenols and thus many of their biological actions."

Aside from increasing zinc uptake, both quercetin and EGCG also inhibit 3CL protease³¹ — an enzyme used by SARS coronaviruses to infect healthy cells.³² As explained in a 2020 paper³³ in Nature, 3CL protease "is essential for processing the polyproteins that are translated from the viral RNA."

And, according to another 2020 study,³⁴ the ability of quercetin, EGCG and certain other flavonoids to inhibit SARS coronaviruses "is presumed to be directly linked to suppress the activity of SARS-CoV 3CLpro in some cases."

Niacin (vitamin B6) and selenium also improve the absorption and bioavailability of zinc. For example, a study³⁵ published in 1991 demonstrated that when young women were on a vitamin B6-deficient diet, their serum zinc declined, suggesting B6 deficiency affected zinc metabolism such that "absorbed zinc was not available for utilization."

A more in-depth exploration and explanation of both niacin and selenium's relationship to zinc is provided in the 2008 paper, "Zinc, Metallothioneins and Longevity: Interrelationships With Niacin and Selenium."³⁶

More Support for Quercetin

Support for the use of quercetin against COVID-19 has also been reported by the Green Stars Project.³⁷ Using the supercomputer SUMMIT, Oak Ridge National Lab researchers looked for molecules capable of inhibiting the COVID-19 spike protein from interacting with human cells. Quercetin is fifth on that list.³⁸

Quercetin is also a potent antiviral in general. As detailed in "Quercetin Lowers Your Risk for Viral Illnesses," mechanisms of action that can make it useful against COVID-19 include:

Inhibiting virus' ability to infect cells39

Inhibiting replication of already infected cells

Reducing infected cells' resistance to treatment with antiviral medication

Inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production in macrophages.40 TNF-α is a cytokine involved in systemic inflammation, secreted by activated macrophages, a type of immune cell that digests foreign substances, microbes and other harmful or damaged components

Inhibiting release of proinflammatory cytokines and histamine by modulating calcium influx into the cell41

Stabilizing mast cells42

Regulating the basic functional properties of immune cells43

Down-regulating or suppressing inflammatory pathways and functions44

Zinc-to-Copper Ratio Can Impact Immune Function

When it comes to zinc supplementation, more is not necessarily better. In fact, it can frequently backfire is you do not also maintain a healthy zinc-to-copper ratio. As explained by Chris Masterjohn, who has a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences,⁴⁵ in an article⁴⁶ and series of Twitter posts:⁴⁷

"In one study, 300mg/day of zinc as two divided doses of 150 mg zinc sulfate decreased important markers of immune function, such as the ability of immune cells known as polymorphonuclear leukocytes to migrate toward and consume bacteria.

The most concerning effect in the context of COVID-19 is that it lowered the lymphocyte stimulation index 3 fold. This is a measure of the ability of T cells to increase their numbers in response to a perceived threat. The reason this is so concerning in the context of COVID-19 is that poor outcomes are associated with low lymphocytes …

The negative effect on lymphocyte proliferation found with 300 mg/day and the apparent safety in this regard of 150 mg/d suggests that the potential for hurting the immune system may begin somewhere between 150-300 mg/d …

It is quite possible that the harmful effect of 300 mg/d zinc on the lymphocyte stimulation index is mediated mostly or completely by induction of copper deficiency …

The negative effect of zinc on copper status has been shown with as little as 60 mg/d zinc. This intake lowers the activity of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme important to antioxidant defense and immune function that depends both on zinc and copper …

A study done with relatively low intakes of zinc suggested that acceptable ratios of zinc to copper range from 2:1 to 15:1 in favor of zinc. Copper appears safe to consume up to a maximum of 10 mg/d.

Notably, the maximum amount of zinc one could consume while staying in the acceptable range of zinc-to-copper ratios and also staying within the upper limit for copper is 150 mg/d."

Another factor to keep in mind is that certain additives can inhibit zinc absorption, which is the complete opposite of what you're looking for. For instance, research has shown citric acid, glycine, mannitol and sorbitol can reduce zinc absorption,⁴⁸ so zinc lozenges containing these ingredients may be less useful.

How Much Zinc Do You Need?

That said, the recommended dietary allowance for zinc in the U.S is 11 mg for adult men and 8 mg for adult women, with slightly higher doses recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women.⁴⁹

As a prophylactic against COVID-19 and other viral infections, Masterjohn recommends taking 7 mg to 15 mg of zinc four times a day, ideally on an empty stomach, or with a phytate-free food. He also recommends getting at least 1 mg of copper from food and supplements for every 15 mg of zinc you take.

Last but not least, remember there are many food sources of zinc, so a supplement may not be necessary. I eat about three-quarters of a pound of ground bison or lamb a day, which provides 20 mg of zinc. I personally don't take any zinc supplement other than what I get from my food, which is likely in an optimal form to maximize absorption.

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One of the key factors to your health and wellness is your nutrition. Hopefully, everyone who reads my newsletters is drinking plenty of pure water every day and abstaining from soda. After water, the most common beverages people drink are coffee and tea.

Unlike soda, organic coffee and tea are leading sources of beneficial antioxidant polyphenols. According to the Tea Association of the USA,¹ tea is found in nearly 80% of all households and on any day, more than 159 million people in the U.S. are drinking it.

In 2019, 15% of 84 billion servings of tea was green tea and 84% was black tea. The U.S. is the third largest tea importer in the world and the only Western country growing in the amount of tea imported and consumed. However, while those across the pond take their tea hot,² approximately 75% of Americans drink it iced.

The organization anticipates industry growth of up to 3%, which may be driven by the growing knowledge of its health benefits, convenience and high-end specialty teas.³ When brewed at home, tea costs about three cents per serving and even the more expensive kinds can be less than 10 cents per serving.

While more than 7,000 studies are recorded in PubMed under "tea and health,"⁴ only recently have scientists begun investigating the potential for using it as an antimicrobial. Its health benefits come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, from which all tea is derived.

There are four polyphenols found in green tea, of which epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) have the greatest antimicrobial effects.⁵

EGCG Improves the Body's Ability to Use Zinc

Coming into cold and flu season, and the potential for a new wave of COVID-19, many people are talking about the importance of zinc supplementation to thwart an infection. Zinc is an essential mineral found throughout the body and it is a cofactor for nearly 3,000 proteins.⁶

One of the effective treatments for early symptoms of COVID-19 has been the combination of hydroxychloroquine with zinc. Initially, a team of doctors from New York University used hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.

Later, zinc sulfate was added to the protocol.⁷ To compare the outcomes between the two groups they completed a retrospective observational study and found that those who received the zinc sulfate went home more frequently and were less likely to need a ventilator.

As research has been published quickly during the pandemic, some have found that published results are not always accurately supported by the data. For example, the authors of a study published in the Lancet May 22, 2020, claimed a reduction in survival and an increase in ventricular arrhythmias with patients receiving hydroxychloroquine alone or with a macrolide antibiotic, such as azithromycin.

The results were later retracted,⁸ but not until after the World Health Organization stopped using the drug in their protocols and leaders of other trials announced the investigations were terminated.⁹ Hydroxychloroquine acts as a zinc ionophore, helping zinc to move into the cells where it can halt the progression of viral replication.^10,11

Catechins May Be a Strategic Key to Good Health

There are several ways that the catechins in green tea influence your health. In one study of more than 50,000 participants, scientists found that ischemic heart disease and stroke were the leading causes of death and represented nearly 50% of all premature deaths.¹² The simple habit of drinking green or black tea may help reduce your blood pressure; high blood pressure is a contributing factor to heart disease and stroke.¹³

In a literature review of 25 trials, another group of researchers found that those who drank green or black tea for 12 weeks had an average reduction of 2.6 mm Hg systolic blood pressure and 2.2 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure as compared to those who did not drink tea.¹⁴ Although green tea is less popular when compared to the sales of black tea, it provided the best results.

According to the authors, this reduction may be expected to lower risk by 8% for stroke, 5% for coronary artery disease mortality and 4% for all-cause mortality.¹⁵ The data support other research showing that drinking three to four cups of tea per day may reduce the risk of heart disease.¹⁶

Researchers have found that this amount of daily tea promotes heart and cardiovascular health and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke through a beneficial effect on endothelial function.^17,18

Drinking green tea can also inhibit amyloid-beta plaque formation in the brain, associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease.¹⁹ Altering the structure of the amyloid fibrils can make them less toxic.²⁰ Unfortunately, the concentrations used in the study were so high you couldn't possibly consume that amount. Drinking green tea is also associated with:

Lower risk of cancer21	Weight loss22
Lower risk of Type 2 diabetes23	Enhanced brain function24
Protection of the eyes25	Improved exercise performance26
Reduced pain and inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis27	Lower risk of autoimmune diseases28

Struggling With Gingivitis? Consider Green Tea

The prevalence of periodontal disease varies among countries, but some experts estimate it affects nearly 50% of the global population.²⁹ Risk factors include medications, poor oral hygiene, diabetes and stress. It's believed that it may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by 19% and treatment may help improve glycemic control in people with Type 2 diabetes.

According to the American Dental Association, brushing your teeth twice a day with toothpaste for 2 minutes helps remove food and plaque and reduces your risk of cavities.³⁰ Unfortunately, proper teeth brushing techniques may not be followed frequently.

In one study of 13,070 people, researchers found an association between the development of diabetes and the number of times participants brushed their teeth.³¹ Those who brushed more often were at reduced risk for disease.

In another study from 2015, green tea was found to help with dental issues. The study group started with a plaque index of at least 1.5 and members were randomized into two groups.³² Those in the first group rinsed twice a day with a 2% green tea mouthwash and the other used a placebo mouthwash. After 28 days the differences were analyzed, and the data revealed that green tea was "effective in the reduction of plaque and gingivitis scores."

Additionally, drinking green tea may boost the antibacterial capacity of saliva. In one study of Taekwondo athletes, researchers evaluated the ingestion of green tea after a two-hour training session.

Saliva samples were collected before and immediately after training and 30 minutes after drinking the tea. An analysis of the data showed that the antibacterial action of the saliva was not impacted by training, but green tea enhanced its capacity.³³

Topical Infections Respond to Green Tea

Green tea has demonstrated effectiveness when consumed, but it is also effective when applied topically. The leaders of a laboratory study investigated the antifungal activity of EGCG and compared it to the drugs fluconazole and flucytosine.³⁴

The action of EGCG was four times higher than that of fluconazole and up to 16 times higher than flucytosine, indicating an ability to inhibit pathogenic dermatophytes. The researchers suggested that EGCG could be used alone as an antifungal agent in dermatophytosis.³⁵

Following up on the study, another group of scientists engaged 94 patients who had interdigital tinea pedis, or athlete's foot.³⁶ They were offered either a placebo treatment or a foot bath infused with green tea polyphenols (GTP).

The researchers evaluated the results after 12 weeks of treatment and found people in the intervention group had a significant decrease in the size of the infected area. Researchers concluded that green tea polyphenols were effective, suggesting that "GTP could have antifungal activity."³⁷

In a literature review gathering data from 145,028 children, researchers found that the median prevalence of impetigo was 12.3%, with a range of 4.2% to 19.4% depending on the area of the world where the study took place.³⁸ The condition is typically treated with an antibiotic ointment or a topical cream.

However, data have shown that the topical application of green tea ointment has an effective cure rate of 81.3% for people with impetigo. This is presented in comparison to the cure rate of 72.2% with topical antibiotics and 78.6% with oral antibiotics.³⁹

A 2% green tea lotion applied to mild to moderate acne also demonstrated effectiveness when it reduced the lesions and severity of the condition in 20 participants. The green tea lotion was applied twice a day for six weeks and the participants were evaluated every two weeks.⁴⁰

Green Tea Antimicrobial Action Doesn't Hurt Gut Microbiome

The antiviral and antifungal effects of green tea have been demonstrated against a number of viruses and health conditions. Yet, its polyphenols do not appear to exert the same antibacterial effect in your intestinal tract.⁴¹ However, there is evidence that it modulates the composition of the microbiota.

In one study, researchers investigated these changes in 12 healthy volunteers using saliva and fecal samples collected before the intervention, two weeks after participants had been drinking 400 milliliters per day and again one week later after a wash-out period.⁴²

The purposes were to explore the effect that drinking green tea had on the microbiome and to test the theory that the alterations were consistent with anticancer activity. The researchers found data that suggested that the changes in the gut microbiome could persist past the time individuals were drinking the green tea.

The results of this study supported past data that demonstrated a tendency for a rising number of Bifidobacterium. After analysis of the data, the researchers found that "the change in proportion was induced, not by an interspecies transition, but by an intraspecies increase and/or decrease. In conclusion, green tea consumption might act as a prebiotic and improve the colon environment by increasing the proportion of the Bifidobacterium species."⁴³

Get the Most From Your Tea

There are three main varieties of tea: green, black and oolong. The differences have to do with how the leaves are processed. Interestingly, EGCG is sensitive to water temperature, so brewing in 80 degrees Celsius or 176 degrees Fahrenheit releases only 60% of the EGCG from the tea leaf.⁴⁴ When measuring loose leaf tea, use a ratio of 1 tablespoon for every 8 ounces of water.⁴⁵

Try drinking it hot while it's freshly brewed to get the most health benefits, rather than tea that might have been sitting for a few hours. Instead of adding milk, which may reduce the potency of some of the antioxidants, try adding a spritz of lemon to boost the benefits and increase catechin absorption.⁴⁶

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That Tassie road trip you've been dreaming of all lockdown might finally be able to happen, as for the first time in seven months, Tassie borders are open! From today, most Australian travellers will be able to enter Tasmania without first enduring a 14-day quarantine period. See if your state or territory makes the cut...

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To keep up with the hectic schedule of working as an international model and Liam Hemsworth's current girlfriend, Gabriella Brooks shares with how she unwinds with a good film, skincare routine and a dip in the pool.

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Elle Ferguson, founder of Elle Effect and influencer, opens up about how she chose to go against the grain and used the social isolation that came with COVID as an opportunity to overhaul her diet, exercise routine but also her outlook on life. She shares how she became - in her own words - 'a new person'.

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Dietitian Melissa Meier shares five nutritious and cost-effective meal ideas, consisting of just three ingredients each. Bon appetite!

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Dr. David Hanscom, an orthopedic surgeon whom I’ve previously interviewed about strategies for chronic back pain, quit his practice to focus on educating others on becoming pain-free without surgery. Most recently, after surviving COVID-19, he turned his attention to prevention and surviving it, which is an important part of this discussion.

We've known for some time now that with diet, exercise and other interventions, you can radically reduce your risk of COVID-19. The focus of Hanscom’s COVID-19 prevention is on strengthening immune function through stress and anxiety reduction, and he has very specific and precise recommendations on how to do that.

As explained by Hanscom, pain is largely a symptom of stress and anxiety, which in turn are predicated on inflammation more so than psychological factors.

“You have to feel safe. When you feel safe, there's a profound shift in your body's chemistry. You're going from adrenalin, cortisol, histamines and inflammatory cytokines to growth hormone, dopamine, serotonin and GABA — all these incredible hormones and anti-inflammatory [compounds]. So, there's a profound shift in the body's chemistry, and people's pain disappears. They don't just manage the pain. The pain disappears.”

Cytokines, Anxiety, Pain and Poor Immune Function

Cytokines are small proteins that serve to regulate different tissues. There are both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines have specific relevance to COVID-19, as they modulate your immune system and its function.

By reducing or resolving stress and anxiety, you lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, thereby allowing your immune system to function better. Hanscom has developed a working group that meets once a week to discuss and share information.

Other members of the group include Stephen Porges, Ph.D., a behavioral neuroscientist who developed Polyvagal 30, and Dr. David Clawson, a podiatrist who is very knowledgeable about cytokines.

“Cytokines are everywhere. Every cell in the body has cytokines. It's how they talk to each other. It turns out that the glial cells in your brain, that connect the tissue of the brain, put out cytokines. So do the endothelial cells, the linings of blood vessels.

When you have a threat — surgeons think in terms of muscle tension, sweating and heart rate — that to us is a threat response, versus safety where you relax and regenerate. What I didn't realize is that threat fires up the immune system, and ‘threat’ is all sorts of stuff. It's viruses, bacteria, cancer cells, a bully, a difficult boss, but also your thoughts, emotions and repressed emotions.

Neuroscience has shown us that those thoughts and emotions are processed in the brain the same way as a physical threat. It turns out that every degenerative disease is, what Clawson says, the same soup. In other words, we know that cardiac disease, critical vascular disease, adult onset diabetes, obesity, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are just examples of inflammatory disorders. It's all inflammatory.”

Anxiety Is a Symptom of Inflammation

When your autonomic nervous system becomes dysregulated, you can — as Hanscom did — go from feeling fine one day to having a panic attack out of the blue the next. He explains:

“It turns out that anxiety, bipolar, depression and schizophrenia are all inflammatory processes. It's inflammatory. It is not psychological. Remember, anxiety is a result of a threat. [Threat] is the cause.

The threat creates a bodily response, which includes your immune system, and that sensation generated by the adrenalin and cortisol and these inflammatory cytokines, that's the sensation of anxiety. Since the unconscious brain processes about 20 million bits of information per second, and the conscious brain only processes 40, you can't do it with mind over matter.

I went to a psychiatrist for 13 years and talked and talked and talked … but I got worse. And, see, the solution for chronic pain is actually changing your brain to go a different direction. If you talk about the problem, you're actually reinforcing it.

The way you decrease anxiety is simply decrease that stress response. And you do it through direct means: Mindfulness, meditation, relaxation, anti-inflammatory diet. The anti-inflammatory diet turns out to be a huge deal … because what happens when you're in a constant threat, i.e., inflammation, which includes processed foods, these inflammatory cells start destroying your body …

The biggest message I want to get out there [is that] anxiety is a physiological response to a threat. Your whole body is on fire. You need to decrease anxiety, decrease cytokines, decrease that stress response. Again, if your body's inflamed, you're going to feel anxious.”

With regard to diet, there are several reasons for why processed foods cause inflammation. For starters, they tend to be very high in refined carbohydrates which, when consumed in excess, causes insulin resistance, thereby raising inflammatory cytokine production and massively increasing your risk of COVID-19. They’re also loaded with industrially processed omega-6 vegetable oils, which are proinflammatory.

Lowering Inflammation Improves COVID-19 Survival

According to Hanscom, removing the threat and creating a sense of safety not only lowers inflammatory markers and eliminates pain, it also improves your immune system’s ability to respond appropriately to fight off foreign invaders, be it SARS-CoV-2 or any other pathogen. 

“The virus, of course, is the threat, [and] you want your immune system to respond. A vast majority of people fight off the virus very quickly, but the elephant in the room, the obvious factor that has to be looked at, is that almost every person that dies from COVID-19 has ‘risk factors’ … [and] every one of these risk factors has elevated inflammatory markers.

The idea is, if you take charge of your health and lower those inflammatory markers, then we have this normal cytokine rise. In other words, the cytokines are your defense against the [virus]. We have this normal cytokine rise that stays below that threshold.

If you hit a certain threshold, the inflammatory response becomes too strong, and you flood your lungs out. You drown in your own fluids, because everything becomes inflamed. Almost every person that's passed away from COVID-19 has had some risk factor where this inflammatory process is going out of control.”

The Vagus Nerve

As explained by Hanscom, your vagus nerve, the 10th cranial nerve which is the main part of your parasympathetic nervous system, acts as a brake on your sympathetic nervous system. Your sympathetic nervous system is activated in response to threats, whereas your parasympathetic nervous system is activated through the relaxation response.

“The Vagus nerve is seeing all this input, and it decides what to do with your body. There's a direct effect on metabolism, the endocrine system, your blood sugars, the cytokines. Under threat, the parasympathetic brake comes off … There's two parts to the vagus nerve. The ventral part is connected to facial and neck muscles. It allows humans to socialize. It's called coregulation.

Instinctively we're a competitive species; we want to stay alive. When I walk up to you, I look at your facial expressions, you look at mine, and we do what's called coregulation, which calms down the autonomic nervous system. The problem with COVID-19 is we have masks on. We can't see each other's faces and we're socially isolated. As Porges points out, it dysregulates the autonomic nervous system.

When I had my panic attack, it was a dysregulated autonomic nervous system, and there was this huge sympathetic charge of inflammatory cytokines. There's some question as to whether my panic attack was a cytokine storm, and then, once that happened, I couldn't control it.

Again, it's 20 million bits of information per second, compared to 40. The vagus nerve is the middle of this whole thing. What I'm excited about is that we look at stress as a psychological construct, and it is not. Remember, stress management is a misnomer, because the stress that's most stressful is the stress that you can't manage. It's a chronic stress.

What happens is, when you're under chronic threat, your immune system is fired up. Then people become socially isolated, which also fires up the immune system even more. You can't coregulate, you're socially isolated, your nerve conduction doubles, you feel the pain more, and when this autonomic response is sustained, there are over 30 physical symptoms that occur.

I had 17 of these at the same time. I had migraine headaches, ringing in my ears, skin rashes, stomach issues, back pain, neck pain, burning in my feet, it just went on and on and on. I had no idea what's going on. Again, the sensation is anxiety, which is not psychological, it's physiological.

Stress isn't the problem. It's this physiological response to the threat. And the way you calm down anxiety is simply drop down the body's chemistry. That's what I learned, sort of by accident, and then Porges filled in the gaps …

When I do mindfulness, I'm actually directly lowering cytokines. That's not psychological, that's a true effect on my body. Same thing with diet. When you can link things like diet, relaxation and calming the nervous system to your inflammatory cytokines, it makes a big difference. That's a long answer to a simple question about linking these responses to your body's chemistry.”

How to Activate Relaxation Response and Lower Inflammation

So, just how do you activate this vagal response to induce relaxation and lower your inflammatory markers? In the interview, Hanscom reviews several strategies known to do this, including the following:

Other simple ways to activate your vagus nerve, thereby triggering the relaxation response and lowering inflammatory markers include the following. For more details about how these work, listen to the interview or read through the transcript.

Deep breathing exercises	Mindfulness
Meditation	Relaxation
Humming	Listening to lullabies
Cold washcloth on your forehead	Acupuncture

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To learn more, be sure to peruse Hanscom’s “Thrive and Survive” manual, available on BackInControl.com.¹ There, you can also find free guides² explaining expressive writing and other pain-treatment guidelines.

Hanscom is also the author of “Do You Really Need Spine Surgery?” available at your local bookstore, or online.

Lastly, Hanscom is in the process of releasing a subscription-based app called DOCjourney,^3,4 designed to help you resolve chronic pain without surgery. DOC stands for “direct your own care.” The subscription incudes virtual group coaching, live seminars, exclusive content and more.

“The app will take you through steps of what we call sematic work of calming things down, breathing, et cetera. It's very concise, and I think something that will be very effective,” Hanscom says.

In closing, I’d like to reiterate one of the key take-home messages Hanscom stressed in this interview, namely that “anxiety is a physiological response to a threat. If your body is inflamed, you’re going to feel anxious.” And, that the answer, not just for anxiety, stress and pain, but also for general immune system health, is to implement strategies that reduce your stress response, make you feel safe again and lower inflammation.

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Richard Mack, a retired sheriff and current president of Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers (CSPOA),¹ is hard at work, educating sheriffs around the country to get them up to speed on the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was essentially clueless as to the importance of your local county sheriffs. I had no idea how crucial they are. Today, I view them as some of the most important elected officials we all have the opportunity to vote for. (Three states — Alaska, Hawaii and Connecticut — do not have sheriffs, so their laws are enforced by other officers such as marshals or deputy sheriffs.²)

In this interview, Mack details the action steps you can take to make sure your sheriff is safeguarding your Constitutional rights and protecting your civil liberties against unlawful government overreach.

Your Sheriff Is the One Protecting Your Constitutional Rights

Ultimately, your local sheriff is in charge of actually enforcing whatever rules and regulations are laid down by state lawmakers, your city or county councils,³ and executive orders from city mayors or governors. Contrary to what some people think, mayors and governors don’t make laws — the state legislatures do that — but they can influence city and state legislation as well as invoke executive orders under certain circumstances.⁴

Sometimes sheriffs and local and state police may be asked by their mayor or governor to enforce an executive order. However, some sheriffs may refuse to do that, if they believe the executive order is unconstitutional. For example, some Michigan⁵ and Texas⁶ sheriffs informed their governors they won’t enforce mandatory mask orders since they aren’t actual laws.

Knowing this, if you do not have a good sheriff who knows the Constitution and adheres to it, you could end up at the mercy of tyrannical government officials trying to create rules and orders outside the powers of your elected legislative officials.

During this pandemic, we’ve seen quite a few mayors and governors implementing pandemic response mandates that violate the U.S. Constitution and infringe on civil liberties. The counterbalance to such overreaches is the local county sheriff. As explained by Mack:

“This is a crucial time in American history, and we actually have a peaceful and effective solution to it. The only thing that needs to happen is your local officials, especially your sheriff, keep [their] oath of office.

That's the only thing he has to do in order to effectuate the philosophy you just mentioned, and that is that the sheriff is here to protect your civil liberties, your God given rights.

As the founding fathers put it in the Declaration of Independence, ‘The laws of nature are nature's God.’ Either way, you don't have to believe in God to appreciate this or to be a part of it. You don't, because these are the rights you were born with.”

The Brady Bill

Mack is perhaps best known for suing the U.S. government over the Brady Bill, also known as the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act,⁷ signed into law by President Clinton in November 1993, which for the first time in U.S. history conscripted county sheriffs to enforce federal law.

“Cornell University did the best review⁸ of the case that I ever saw. If you want to look up the case, see Printz, Mac V. U.S.⁹ It's the most amazing 10th Amendment decision in the history of our country. It is so powerful,” Mack says.

“Justice [Antonin] Scalia wrote the decision, and it went 10 times further than I ever dreamed. In fact, I never dreamed of even going to the Supreme Court. I thought it would all be squashed and forgotten at the district level. But we went through the district court. Six other sheriffs joined me in this lawsuit. All of them won at the district court except the one in Texas.

I don't know how you lose a 10th Amendment, Second Amendment case in Texas. People need to understand we sued on the 10th Amendment to protect the Second Amendment, yes, but also to protect state sovereignty. This is the one thing that really got to me the most.

I understand we're always going to have people believing in gun control. I do not, because it's against the Constitution. However, and I'm not a big gun guy — I never even owned a gun until I was elected sheriff … But I am a freedom guy. That's all this was about.

And I said that the federal government cannot tell any sheriff what to do. Not me, not the sheriff in Bangor, Maine, or any sheriff across this country. They have no authority. They have no jurisdiction to tell us what to do. And that is where we won.

It pushed the federal government back, but nobody knows about this decision. It's very hidden. Nobody enforces it, and I'm trying to wake the country up to enforce (1) the Constitution, and (2) this decision that just reinforced the Constitution and the principle of Federalism.”

The Constitution Protects Us From Our Best Intentions

Had it not been for Mack winning this lawsuit, sheriffs would not have had the legal ability to stand up against tyranny and protect Constitutional rights today. Hundreds of sheriffs have refused to enforce the often ridiculous and biased mandates issued by mayors and governors under the guise of protecting public health.

“One of our best Constitutional sheriffs is Mike Carpinelli out of Lewis County, New York, and he's actually announced¹⁰ that he's going to run against [New York governor Andrew] Cuomo …

[Carpinelli] is a really solid Constitutional conservative — somebody who actually believes in freedom, who wants to put aside the socialist, communist takeover of our states and our country, and who really believes in individual liberty.”

Another example is sheriff Sharon Wehrly in Nye County, Nevada. She is a lifetime member of the CSPOA. Pam Elliott in Edwards County, Texas, is also a Constitutional sheriff who has gone through CSPOA’s training.

“Sheriffs know that when they come to our training, it will change America,” Mack says. “I'm going to tell everybody right now; communism and socialism are the antithesis of individual liberty. They do not allow for property rights.

They do not allow for personal freedom. It's all about the state mandating and controlling everything, including your own property. You don't have property under those systems.

Scalia, like I said, went a lot further than I ever thought he would. He said this: ‘But the Constitution protects us from our own best intentions.’ You would think that quote right there would be enough to get everybody so excited about this case that they would go to our website and buy the reviews of the case.

I have this little pocket sized review, all the highlights, all the best parts of the case, called ‘The Victory for State Sovereignty.’ You can get that at cspoa.org. You should be passing them out to everyone so that they wake up to this.”

The Constitution Protects Us From the Crisis of the Day

In his court decision, Scalia also talked about how the Constitution protects us from the crisis of the day. “It prevents the temptation to concentrate power in one location as an expedient solution to the crisis of the day,” he said. And the COVID-19 pandemic is just that, Mack says. It’s the crisis of the day.

“How many Americans die from obesity, heart disease and the effects of smoking? About a million a year? Yet we don't make cigarette smoking against the law. Why don't we make obesity against the law? It would be easy to put a little computer chip in everybody or just have everybody keep their federal obesity card.

When you go to a Dairy Queen, they run it and go, ‘Whoops. You can't have a Blizzard today. You had one last week’ … I mean, aren't they going to take care of us? … Isn't this the same thing as them trying to ‘protect us’ and make sure that we're all ‘safe’ by [telling us we must] stay … in our homes, social distance and wear masks in public?

There's no freedom of choice in any of that … My message is to all peace officers because we've already seen … where sheriffs and peace officers across the country are saying, ‘I will not force people to do that.’

It might be a good idea to wear a mask. I don't know. But I do know that it has to be up to the individual because liberty is based on the choices that the individual makes, not that the government makes for us.

Even now we have some cities in America, like Englewood, Colorado, that have instituted a rule that if you're not wearing a mask, it's a $2,600 fine and a year in jail.¹¹ At the same time, we're releasing tens of thousands of convicted hardcore felons so, I guess, we can make room in our prisons for the non-mask wearers.”

Americans Jailed and Shot Over Unconstitutional Rules

Among the most egregious overreaches we’ve seen during this pandemic is the case of a supermarket security guard who shot a customer in the back for refusing to wear a mask. He is now charged with murder.¹² Many of these mask mandates are in direct violation of the Constitution and shouldn’t be enforced to begin with, let alone get killed over.

“This is a question I ask on every program. Sheriff [Scott] Nichols in Franklin County, Maine, told his governor, ‘We will not make our county a police state. We will not conduct ourselves like Nazi soldiers. We will follow the Constitution.’ He was refusing … social engineering orders …

The question is, do you want the sheriff in Florida who arrested pastor Howard Brown [for holding church services in violation of stay-at-home order], or do you want the sheriff in Maine who said, ‘We won't conduct ourselves like that? We will still respect the rights of the people to make their own choices, even if it's uncomfortable for other people.’ Isn't that what liberty is? …

You would think we already made a law that freedom of religion would be the one principle that we would all agree on, yet we're arresting people in this country, literally, just for going to church … This is so absurd.

So, which sheriff do you want in your county? The one who will protect your liberty, still educate you as to how you should be careful, but then respect your right to choose for yourself?

I also submit that he actually protects you from other governments trying to arrest you. He protects you from that security guard. They're not actually very well trained. Sometimes cops aren't either, and we need to understand de-escalation, and that we don't shoot somebody over a mask issue, which isn't even a law.

The insanity just seems to get worse and worse every day, and I'm saying, let's go back to American ideals. Let's go back to the Constitution. And we literally train sheriffs and peace officers across this country to follow the Constitution, and to do that you have to know and understand the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights.”

Most of us would probably want a sheriff who will protect your civil liberties and personal freedoms. One area where your local sheriff might end up playing a crucial role is if they roll out forced vaccinations. Undoubtedly, that's the next step in this COVID-19 pandemic.

I believe the orders to wear masks everywhere we go is a preliminary step in that direction. Were rules or laws enacted saying you must get the COVID-19 vaccine or you’ll be barred from various locations, your sheriff would be the one to either comply with such orders or refuse to enforce them.

How Do You Get a Constitutional Sheriff in Your County?

The question then becomes, how do you ensure your local sheriff understands and protects your rights under the Constitution? You basically have two options here. Either vote a Constitutional sheriff in, or educate the one you have.

“We the people need to be involved in that process. Remember, [Thomas] Jefferson said the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. And that's one place where we have failed in this country,” Mack says. “We the people have trusted government to take care of liberty. Big mistake.

We were told to never do that. Never trust. I don't care if it's your brother that's in office, never trust anybody in government, including me. Check on me. Always be checking and see what I'm doing, and your public officials should be making that very transparent. This is what I believe. This is what I'm doing.”

Mack urges everyone to join the CSPOA — The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. Its purpose is to create a partnership between the people, the sheriff and the local law enforcement chiefs. I encourage you to join me in supporting this worthy organization.

Next, you need to vet your candidates. There are just under 3,100 sheriffs in the U.S., and as in all other professions, some are better educated and informed than others. In the case of sheriffs, it’s imperative that they understand, and vow to uphold, the Constitution of the United States.

“Be friendly, be tactful, but you need to ask every sheriff candidate running right now if he will be a Constitutional sheriff,” Mack says. “You should be able to find that out with one quick phone call, or you can look at their history …

They need to hear from you, and they need to know you're concerned about this issue. It's great that you go to them and say, ‘Sheriff, I'm a member of the CSPOA. I'm on the Constitutional Sheriff’s Posse’ … If a sheriff hears from 10 of his constituents, he'll say hundreds of people are calling. They can't ignore you …

Everybody needs to be a member of the CSPOA. It's the only one out there doing this, and believe me, it's a peaceful and effective solution that is working.”

Why Join the CSPOA?

It’s important to realize the CSPOA is the only organization of its kind and helps educate sheriffs all around the country. Joining the CSPOA is really one of the most highly leveraged investments you could make to secure your personal liberties.

Their funding comes from private donations and membership fees, which are then used to train sheriffs. The organization doesn’t even have any paid employees. But the sheriffs don’t flock there by themselves (although some might). The only way the organization can work is by getting citizens involved in the process.

“If people want this solution, become a part of it. The success of this organization is based on your involvement in it, how much time you spend on this, how much money you put into this …

We want you to have these books. They're tools for liberty. We want you to be able to take a copy of the Supreme Court decision to your sheriff candidate, to your sheriff forum, and you've got to get going on that because some of these primaries have already happened. You might only have two candidates left, a Democrat and Republican. And you need to find out which one will be a Constitutional sheriff.

I get calls from these candidates all the time. In fact, yesterday I got another one from Florida saying, ‘Will you endorse me?’ CSPOA does not endorse, but I do. And you need to go [to them] and say, ‘Sheriff, have you heard of the Constitutional Sheriffs Association?… Most of them have already heard about us.

Whether they have or not, you need to ask them, ‘Will you be a Constitutional sheriff? Will you protect me from being victimized by other government? Will you protect me if I don't wear a mask in public? Will you protect me if they come and knock on my door and want to come into my home? Will you protect me and my choice to take a vaccination or not?’ …

You need dozens of people to make those calls … These sheriffs need to create their own policies also, and we train in that. But we train sheriffs to do all this. And we go as far as your donations and your membership fees take us. That's just the simple fact of it.”

Don’t All Sheriffs Already Know Everything They Need to Know?

The training CSPOA offers is crucial, as the traditional training sheriffs receive is fairly inadequate with respect to the understanding and appreciation of their oath, which is to protect and uphold Constitutional rights. Many get distracted or confused by the belief or idea that they must enforce things that really are not within their scope of duty.

“Look, we're not going to get every sheriff. We really hope to get about a third of the nation's sheriffs, that's 1,000. If we get just a third of the sheriffs to do this [Constitutional training], we take back American liberty tomorrow. We don't have to wait for another piece of legislation. We don't have to wait for another election. We can do it now, today,” Mack says.

“And so, folks, this is where you come in. The sheriff's position is extremely vital to all of this because he is elected by you. You're the only boss. You're the sheriff's only supervisor. He does not report to anyone else, except you, the voters. And he needs to hear from you. If he never hears from you, he's going to do whatever he wants.”

What Does It Mean to Take an Oath?

As explained by Mack, Article 6 in the Constitution requires federal and state peace officers, including state officials, to swear an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. This is important, because when they do, liberty is protected at every level of government in all three branches.

All agents, on local, state and federal levels, are supposed to be enforcing the principles in the Constitution. Looking around today, it’s clear that many do not, and part of the problem is that people do not understand what the oath they’re taking actually means.

“How can you take an oath and then not study and know and understand what that means? If you take an oath to the Constitution, that presupposes that you know the Constitution. And that's where the training in law enforcement has failed miserably.

The police academies, ongoing certification training and all agencies in this country do not train at all to understand what your oath means, how you keep your oath, and what our role is in America as peace officers and sheriffs. What our role truly is is in protecting liberty.

The place we start is the Declaration of Independence because … most of us don't even know what form of government we have in America. How can we be a part of protecting the liberties of America when we don't even know what form of government America has? So, we teach all that. We get rid of all the brainwashing, like ‘We're a democracy.’ That’s brainwashing. That's a lie.

If you take an oath, how will you keep it? And then we go into the Bill of Rights. I'm telling you, if our peace officers in this country understand that quote, ‘To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men,’ right from the Declaration of Independence, we find what the proper role of government is, and that is to secure God given rights, natural rights, our innate rights. That is the job of every peace officer in this country.”

The Best Way to Reform Our Police Force

As noted by Mack, when you get sheriffs and police officers to understand that upholding the Constitution is their actual role, that this is their No. 1 job, the paradigm shifts from kicking in doors and arresting people for not wearing a mask to being a defender of liberty and a guard of the Constitution. It results in a mental paradigm shift.

“That paradigm will make a huge shift and the beneficiary of that will be the American people,” Mack says. “The best tool for any situation in de-escalation is the Constitution of the United States of America.

If [police officers] know and understand the Constitution and their role in defending it, then I believe the problems with police brutality are going to disappear in this country, at least diminish extremely …

Once we understand the principles of freedom that we as peace officers swore an oath to uphold and defend, our job is going to change immensely. If I can enforce the law without beating people into compliance, which I did for 20 years, then every peace officer can do the same.

Isn't it amazing the coincidence that I studied and became a convert to the oath of office and the Constitution back when I was a rookie cop in 1983? When I found out what all that was for, it changed how I viewed my job in law enforcement, and it really took me from a by-the-numbers jerk to a by, for and of the people peace officer and defender.

This would've never happened to George Floyd if we had officers that truly were converted to why we have peace officers in the first place. And when we understand that my job is to protect liberty … [then] how we effectuate all those arrests … will change America … Getting sheriffs and peace officers in this country to go from the master to the servant is a huge process, and that's what we're doing.”

Naturally, once a sheriff has been re-educated and is committed to the principles of being a defender of the Constitution, then they will typically train their entire police department, since the deputies are the ones with boots on the ground, answering most of the calls.

Interestingly, Mack is now also working with a national health freedom organization. His goal with that organization is to start promoting health freedom and food freedom as well, using the Constitution as a guide.

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September 30, 2020, the CSPOA is scheduled to train most of the sheriffs in Virginia at Liberty University in Lynchburg. The Virginia Sheriff’s Association helped sponsor that event.

As noted by Mack, if enough people get involved, we can create Constitutional counties and take back America, county by county, one sheriff at a time. Eventually, all the police forces will be on the same page as well, and will no longer enforce unlawful, unconstitutional orders, whatever they might be.

“I believe that this is a ministry of putting people's freedom back where it belongs, and that's with you,” Mack says. “We can do this. I promise, we can. We've had so many different success stories throughout this coronavirus meltdown of American freedom. I love America, and it breaks my heart to see what's going on. Let's rise up together and do something about it.”

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Remember, providing financial support via your membership is just one part of the solution. The more important part is to contact your local sheriff and urge him or her to participate in this process.

A single person can make a major difference, but I encourage you to get your friends and neighbors involved too. The more phone calls or visits your sheriff gets, the more incentive they’ll have to get involved and start safeguarding everyone’s Constitutional rights and civil liberties against tyrannical overreach.

Not only do we need your support of CSPOA, but we also need you to reach out to your local sheriff to get them onboard. The more people from your local community you get to contact them, the more likely they will listen.

However, as we discuss in the interview, if you live in large urban, Democratic-party controlled centers like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles or Portland, it would likely be a waste of time and a better strategy would be to consider moving to a community that has a Constitutional sheriff.

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